too low?
 

A couple of weeks ago, I got my ball joints and steering box replaced in my 70 stepside. When I took it to my mechanic to get it done, he notified me that he had just gotten a pair of almost new 2" drop springs for the front of my truck, bought and installed for only $75 since he was already going to be down there. I accepted eagerly, being that my front end was actually a little bit higher than my rear end, due to new tires. The next day, when i picked my truck up, he informed me that he had installed a new pair of a-arms because the springs would not work with my current ones; no extra charge. Fine by me. Well, the truck ended up lower than i had expected, and it took me about two weeks to decide its lower than i want it. I have heard about putting specific shims around the spring that raise it, but is that a cheap fix for a bigger problem? Also, i was considering just putting air bags in place of what i have. Does that involve replaces the shocks and springs? Sorry if i sound new, i've just never done any suspension before

Re: too low?
 

Hmmm, what look do you want from your truck. You say you think it's too low, but then you talk about bags. Bags are going to make it lower than what you have with your spring in there.

Re: too low?
 

well, i figured they were adjustable. But if it'll still be lower, then forget those. What about the shims though?

Re: too low?
 

Can you post any pictures of the truck and the lower a-arm area so we can help figure this out?

Re: too low?
 

why not put the old springs back in it ...

Re: too low?
 

Just bring the back down to match ;)

Re: too low?
 

:agree:

Re: too low?
 

Me Too!

Re: too low?
 

Too Low,,

Is that really a question? lol

Drop the rear and you''ll be happy.

Re: too low?
 

its never to low

Re: too low?
 

I just took some pictures. Best I could do without taking the entire fender off.
http://www.fileden.com/files/27997/PICT1279.JPG

The reason it's too low for me...

http://www.fileden.com/files/27997/PICT1281.JPG

http://www.fileden.com/files/27997/PICT1282.JPG

So, while I can respect you all with your lowered trucks, I am just not an ultra-low kind of guy. Especially with cutouts on a daily driver.

Unfortunately, I can't put the old springs back on.
The old springs fell victim to the previous owner, who cut them straight in half in an attempt to lower the truck without spending money...

So, short of buying a new set of springs, is there anything else I can do?

Re: too low?
 

While I won't try & tell you your opinion is right/wrong, I would suggest getting the exhaust re-done so it doesn't hang below the frame rails. If that's not an option you'll consider, get a set of used springs from a wrecking yard or a board member. There's a bunch of guys swapping over to bags that have extra coils looking for 'new work'.

Re: too low?
 

I dont consider it an option, simply because even if I did have the extra clearence, I still wouldn't want it as low as it is. It's just not my style. But you think the best option would be to just put larger springs in? Do you know what size I should get? And is it something I could do myself?

Re: too low?
 

It is harder to get stock length coils in vs. shorter drop coils but it can be done easily @ home. For the record, even if your truck was stock height I would re-work the exhaust. There's no reason for it to hang so far below the rails if routed carefully.

Re: too low?
 

I tend to agree with your opinion on the amount of drop on your daily driver. Although I love low trucks, at the current height, it will become an annoyance to drive on a daily basis.

Something about those LCA's looks strange... Have they been Z'd? From the picture, it looks like they have been modified. If so, I would say your fix is to re-install some "stock" lower control arms.

Re: too low?
 

im pretty sure there are some guys with stock springs that would be more than happy to trade... i think it sits nice, tuck the exhaust up and its good to go

Re: too low?
 

His lower control arms are 'stepped'.

Re: too low?
 

Thanks for confirming the terminology ;) ... This would explain why his truck is so low and why his LCA's are almost sitting on the ground wouldn't it? Depending on how much they are stepped, he would have 1 or 2 inches extra drop from the control arms.

Re: too low?
 

Yes, stepped arms accomplish the same thing as dropped spindles w/o requiring the disc swap.

Re: too low?
 

Do you realize you have a pair of modified stock lower control arms? Do you know where they came from or who did the work? I would be skeptical of a mechanic who put these on your truck without asking you first. This is how it sounds anyway from the first post. Anyway, I would get new lower control arms or stock coils. Another thing that I cant figure out is why your stock lower control arms wouldn't work with the new coils. Something isn't right...

Re: too low?
 

I agree.

Re: too low?
 

Yep

Re: too low?
 

maybe the guy wanted to get rid of the arms, so he tricked you into trading

Re: too low?
 

Interesting...

As already stated, installing lowering springs is pretty basic... There's shouldn't be any reason why the LCA's would need to be changed.

Re: too low?
 

No, I trust my mechanic way more than that.
Maybe its just me being ignorant, but I think its more likely that the old ones were no good. You should have seen the truck before I got to it...